40 Pounds of Trouble *** (1962, Tony Curtis, Phil Silvers, Suzanne Pleshette) – Classic Movie Review 9197

Director Norman Jewison’s 1963 comedy 40 Pounds of Trouble stars Tony Curtis as Lake Tahoe casino boss Steve McCluskey, who befriends little girl ‘Penny’ Piper (Claire Wilcox) while dealing with an alimony detective, casino owner Bernie Friedman (Phil Silvers) and man-mad Chris Lockwood (Suzanne Pleshette).

Forty Pounds of Trouble is a lightly entertaining Disney-style comedy, with an appropriate big finish in the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland Park, Anaheim, California. Jewsion (in his début) directs with a bit of zest and flair, while Curtis, Pleshette and Silvers give fine, ingratiating comic performances. Marion Hargrove’s screenplay is loosely based on the short story Markie [Little Miss Marker] by Damon Runyon (uncredited).

40 Pounds of Trouble is an approximate remake of the 1934 Little Miss Marker, remade as Sorrowful Jones (1949} and again as Little Miss Marker (1980) in which Curtis again appeared.

Also in the cast are Edward Andrews, Larry Storch, Stubby Kaye, Mary Murphy, Warren Stevens, Kevin McCarthy, Tom Reese, Steve Gravers, Karen Steele, Gregg Palmer, Sharon Farrell, Charles Horvath, Gerald Gordon, Jack LaRue, Jim Bannon, Charles Victor and Ford Rainey.

40 Pounds of Trouble [Forty Pounds of Trouble] is directed by Norman Jewison, runs 106 minutes, is made by Curtis Enterprises, is released by Universal, is written by Marion Hargrove, based on the short story Markie [Little Miss Marker] by Damon Runyon (uncredited), is shot in Eastmancolor by Joseph MacDonald [Joe MacDonald], is produced by Stan Margulies and is scored by Mort Lindsey, with Art Direction by Robert Clatworthy and Alexander Golitzen.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9197

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